Y Chromosomes of 40% Chinese Are Descendants of Three Neolithic Super-grandfathers

Demographic change of human populations is one of the central questions for delving into the past of human beings. To identify major population expansions related to male lineages, we sequenced 78 East Asian Y chromosomes at 3.9 Mbp of the non-recombining region (NRY), discovered >4,000 new SNPs, and identified many new clades. The relative divergence dates can be estimated much more precisely using molecular clock. We found that all the Paleolithic divergences were binary; however, three strong star-like Neolithic expansions at ~6 kya (thousand years ago) (assuming a constant substitution rate of 1e-9/bp/year) indicates that ~40% of modern Chinese are patrilineal descendants of only three super-grandfathers at that time. This observation suggests that the main patrilineal expansion in China occurred in the Neolithic Era and might be related to the development of agriculture.Comment: 29 pages of article text including 1 article figure, 9 pages of SI text, and 2 SI figures. 5 SI tables are in a separate ancillary fil

Simultaneous Structural Identification of Natural Products in Fractions of Crude Extract of the Rare Endangered Plant Anoectochilus roxburghii Using 1H NMR/RRLC-MS Parallel Dynamic Spectroscopy

Nuclear magnetic resonance/liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy parallel dynamic spectroscopy (NMR/LC-MS PDS) is a method aimed at the simultaneous structural identification of natural products in complex mixtures. In this study, the method is illustrated with respect to 1H NMR and rapid resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (RRLC-MS) data, acquired from the crude extract of Anoectochilus roxburghii, which was separated into a series of fractions with the concentration of constituent dynamic variation using reversed-phase preparative chromatography. Through fraction ranges and intensity changing profiles in 1H NMR/RRLC–MS PDS spectrum, 1H NMR and the extracted ion chromatogram (XIC) signals deriving from the same individual constituent, were correlated due to the signal amplitude co-variation resulting from the concentration variation of constituents in a series of incompletely separated fractions. 1H NMR/RRLC-MS PDS was then successfully used to identify three types of natural products, including eight flavonoids, four organic acids and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, five of which have not previously been reported in Anoectochilus roxburghii. In addition, two groups of co-eluted compounds were successfully identified. The results prove that this approach should be of benefit in the unequivocal structural determination of a variety of classes of compounds from extremely complex mixtures, such as herbs and biological samples, which will lead to improved efficiency in the identification of new potential lead compounds

Uniparental Genetic Analyses Reveal the Major Origin of Fujian Tanka from Ancient Indigenous Daic Populations

The Fujian Tanka people are officially classified as a southern Han ethnic group while they have customs similar to Daic and Austronesion people. Whether they originated in Han or Daic people, there is no consensus. Three hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of this group: 1) the Han Chinese origin, 2) the ancient Daic origin, 3) and the admixture between Daic and Han. In this study, we address this issue by analyzing the paternal Y chromosome and maternal mtDNA variation of 62 Fujian Tanka and 25 neighboring Han in Fujian. We found that the southern East Asian predominant haplogroups, e.g. O1a1a-P203 and O1b1a1a-M95 of Y chromosome and F2a, M7c1, and F1a1 of mtDNA, reach relatively high frequencies in Tanka. The interpopulation comparison reveals that the Tanka have a closer affinity with Daic populations than with Han Chinese in paternal lineages while are closely clustered with southern Han populations such as Hakka and Chaoshanese in maternal lineages. Network and haplotype-sharing analyses also support the admixture hypothesis. The Fujian Tanka mainly originate from the ancient indigenous Daic people and have only limited gene flows from Han Chinese populations. Notably, the divergence time inferred by the Tanka-specific haplotypes indicates that the formation of Fujian Tanka was a least 1033.8-1050.6 years before present (the early Northern Song Dynasty), indicating that they are indigenous population, not late Daic migrants from southwestern China

Uniparental Genetic Analyses Reveal the Major Origin of Fujian Tanka from Ancient Indigenous Daic Populations

The Fujian Tanka people are officially classified as a southern Han ethnic group while they have customs similar to Daic and Austronesion people. Whether they originated in Han or Daic people, there is no consensus. Three hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origin of this group: 1) the Han Chinese origin, 2) the ancient Daic origin, 3) and the admixture between Daic and Han. In this study, we address this issue by analyzing the paternal Y chromosome and maternal mtDNA variation of 62 Fujian Tanka and 25 neighboring Han in Fujian. We found that the southern East Asian predominant haplogroups, e.g. O1a1a-P203 and O1b1a1a-M95 of Y chromosome and F2a, M7c1, and F1a1 of mtDNA, reach relatively high frequencies in Tanka. The interpopulation comparison reveals that the Tanka have a closer affinity with Daic populations than with Han Chinese in paternal lineages while are closely clustered with southern Han populations such as Hakka and Chaoshanese in maternal lineages. Network and haplotype-sharing analyses also support the admixture hypothesis. The Fujian Tanka mainly originate from the ancient indigenous Daic people and have only limited gene flows from Han Chinese populations. Notably, the divergence time inferred by the Tanka-specific haplotypes indicates that the formation of Fujian Tanka was a least 1033.8-1050.6 years before present (the early Northern Song Dynasty), indicating that they are indigenous population, not late Daic migrants from southwestern China

Identification of forensically important sarcophagid flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) based on COI gene in China

Abstract: Identifing an insect specimen is a crucial step in forensic entomology. As the stages and species of insect discovered on a corpse, such as Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae, provides evidence for estimation of postmortem interval (PMI). However, morphologically distinguish may on occasion be impossible to the adult flies and nymphs of the same genus. A molecular method used the cytochrome oxidase subunits one (COI) sequence on mitochondrial DNA was established for sarcophagid species identification. In this study, a 272 base pair region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coding for COI was investigated for identification of the following forensically important sarcophagid flies. The specimens were from four families, including 8 Boerttcherisca Peregrina (Robineau -Desvoidy,1830) specimens of Boettcherisca, 2 Parasarcophaga similis (Meade, 1876) specimens, 4 Parasarcophaga albiceps (Meigen, 1826) and 8 Parasarcophaga dux (Thompson, 1869) specimens from Parasarcophaga. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that this partial COI region successfully identified all samples species to species group. Low levels of variation between some species indicate that sarcophagid flies from more locations should be studied in the future and local database set up are strongly recommended in China

Sulfated tyrosines 27 and 29 in the N-terminus of human CXCR3 participate in binding native IP-10

Aim: Human CXCR3, a seven-transmembrane segment (7TMS), is predominantly expressed in Th1-mediated responses. Interferon-γ-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) is an important ligand for CXCR3. Their interaction is pivotal for leukocyte migration and activation. Tyrosine sulfation in 7TMS is a posttranslational modification that contributes substantially to ligand binding. We aimed to study the role of tyrosine sulfation of CXCR3 in the protein's binding to IP-10. Methods: Plasmids encoding CXCR3 and its mutants were prepared by PCR and site-directed mutagenesis. HEK 293T cells were transfected with plasmids encoding CXCR3 or its variants using calcium phosphate. Transfected cells were labeled with [35S]-cysteine and methionine or [35S]-Na2SO3 and then analyzed by immunoprecipitation to measure sulfation. Experiments with 125I-labeled IP-10 were carried out to evaluate the affinity of CXCR3 for its ligand. Calcium influx assays were used to measure intercellular signal transduction. Results: Our data show that sulfate moieties are added to tyrosines 27 and 29 of CXCR3. Mutation of these two tyrosines to phenylalanines substantially decreases binding of CXCR3 to IP-10 and appears to eliminate the associated signal transduction. Tyrosine sulfation of CXCR3 is enhanced by tyrosyl protein sulfotransferases (TPSTs), and it is weakened by shRNA constructs. The binding ability of CXCR3 to IP-10 is increased by TPSTs and decreased by shRNAs. Conclusions: This study identifies two sulfated tyrosines in the N-terminus of CXCR3 as part of the binding site for IP-10, and it underscores the fact that tyrosine sulfation in the N-termini of 7TMS receptors is functionally important for ligand interactions. Our study suggests a molecular target for inhibiting this ligand-receptor interaction

Mild Infections with Multiple Spotted Fever Grouped Rickettsia Species among Forest Rangers with Tick Bites

Tick-borne rickettsiae are increasingly recognized to cause human infections; however, a complete clinical spectrum is lacking. Thus, surveillance study was conducted among forest rangers with tick bites to describe the clinical manifestations. One hundred fifty-nine blood samples were obtained from individuals bitten by ticks and 780 tick samples collected in the same endemic region were examined for the presence of Rickettsia . Serum samples were tested for IgM and IgG antibodies against R. heilongjiangensis . Twenty-five (15.7%) individuals were shown to be infected with 5 Rickettsia species, including 14 Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae (CRT), 8 R. raoultii , 1 R. felis , 1 R. heilongjiangensis , and 1 R. massiliae . Five individuals (1 CRT, 1 R. heilongjiangensis , and 3 R. raoultii ) had mild illnesses; the other 20 individuals were asymptomatic. CRT was present in 38.4% (274/713) of I. persulcatus and 6.4% (3/47) of Hae. concinna . R. raoultii was demonstrated in 30.0% (6/20) of D. silvarum and 14.9% (7/17) of Hae. concinna . R. heilongjiangensis was detected in 9.5% (2/21) of D. silvarum and 0.3% (2/713) of I. persulcatus . The clinical manifestations of these rickettsioses were non-specific and differed from traditional features, thus supporting the necessity of wider investigations involving individuals with tick bites to develop an early differential diagnosis

The Effects of Lycopene on the Methylation of the GSTP1 Promoter and Global Methylation in Prostatic Cancer Cell Lines PC3 and LNCaP

DNA (cytosine-5-) methylation silencing of GSTP1 function occurs in prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa). Previous studies have shown that there is an inverse relationship between dietary lycopene intake and the risk of PCa. However, it is unknown whether lycopene reactivates the tumor suppressor gene glutathioneS-transferase-π (GSTP1) by demethylation of the hypermethylated CpGs that act to silence the GSTP1 promoter. Here, we demonstrated that lycopene treatment significantly decreased the methylation levels of the GSTP1 promoter and increased the mRNA and protein levels of GSTP1 in an androgen-independent PC-3 cell line. In contrast, lycopene treatment did not demethylate the GSTP1 promoter or increase GSTP1 expression in the androgen-dependent LNCaP cell line. DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 3A protein levels were downregulated in PC-3 cells following lycopene treatment; however, DNMT1 and DNMT3B levels were unchanged. Furthermore, the long interspersed element (LINE-1) and short interspersed element ALU were not demethylated when treated by lycopene. In LNCaP cells, lycopene treatment did not affect any detected DNMT protein expression, and the methylation levels of LINE-1 and ALU were decreased. These results indicated that the protective effect of lycopene on the prostate is different between androgen-dependent and androgen-independent derived PCa cells. Further, in vivo studies should be conducted to confirm these promising results and to evaluate the potential role of lycopene in the protection of the prostate

Anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between digestive tract conditions and oral health-related quality of life in orthodontic patients

BackgroundAnxiety and depression are common psychological problems in orthodontic patients whose diet habits and oral health status change frequently during treatment. However, relationships between anxiety and depression, digestive tract condition, and impaired oral health-related quality of life remain unknown.Materials and methodsIn this study, clinical assessments, including anxiety, depression, digestive tract condition, and oral health-related quality of life, were collected from 769 outpatients in the orthodontic department using three self-reported questionnaires. Correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationships among different clinical assessments. A chained mediation analysis model was further conducted to explore the direct and indirect effects of these various clinical factors.ResultsChanges in digestive tract conditions were positively correlated with the psychological status and oral health-related quality of life. Anxiety and depression partially mediated the relationship between them, and the indirect effect was 0.68 (30%), of which the mediation effect of anxiety accounted for 56%.ConclusionAnxiety and depression mediate the relationship between gastrointestinal conditions and oral health. In particular, anxiety seems to play a significant mediating role. Our findings indicate that psychological status must be paid more attention to in future clinical practices and supervision for digestive tract symptoms of orthodontic patients